Arkansas - Round Mountain Water System Improvement Project_Full Application

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Round Mountain Water and Sanitation District (RMWSD) Water System Improvements Project ATTACHMENT A A. 3. Descriution of Or2anization (continued) The District's water system currently consists of four wells, three with gas chlorination treatment, and one with hypo- chlorination treatment, approximately 19 miles of distribution lines and the two storage tanks with a gross capacity of 450,000 gallons. In 1996, the Colorado State Engineer adopted ground water use rules that placed the District's 100-year-old wells under the surface priority system, basically eliminating most of the District's water rights. RMWSD was required to purchase new water rights to ensure a dependable water supply for its customers. The District borrowed funds to purchase senior water rights at a cost of $800,000, spent an additional $100,000 on legal fees and recently completed a water decree to convert the water rights to municipal use. RMWSD also purchased raw water storage space in DeWeese Reservoir at a cost of $355,800. All of RMWSD's wells are located in the Wet Mountain Valley Basin-fill aquifer. The Wet Mountain Valley is an intermontane trough filled to a depth of at least 6,700 feet with unconsolidated deposits. Ground water occurs under both artesian and water-table conditions within the basin-fill aquifer and ground-water movement is toward Grape and Texas Creeks. The depth to the water table is less than 10 feet in an area of about 40 square miles along the central part of the valley and is less than 100 feet in most of the remainder of the valley. Ground water stored in the upper 100 feet of saturated basin-fill sediments is estimated to total 1.5 million acre-feet. There are no major surface water features within the District. The entire District boundary encompasses 6,345 acres (almost 10 sq. miles), however, the current service area of the District is 640 acres (one square mile). The current estimated population of both towns that the District serves is 1,056 people, based on Lottery Distribution estilnates. This is a 13% growth rate since the year 2000. An annual 4% growth rate is projected for the towns in the next 5 years, based on an average between the recent population growth rate and housing increases. RMWSD currently serves 587 connected taps. The past five-year growth trend in water taps has been approximately 3%. Water demand has decreased 35% per household over the last five-year period. The most recent data estimate of the District's present water demand is an annualized pumped average of 239 gallons per household per day, or 144 gallons per person. The pumped water demand of 144 gpcd is near the average for the climate area and COlnpares favorably with other water districts in our area. Despite recent significant improvements in water conservation made by the district, through repairing leaks and water rate increases, the District's annual rate of water usage (144 gpcd) still exceeds National averages of 100-125 gpcd (Civil Engineering Reference Manual Ninth Edition). Monthly water service charges in 2006 included a $15.00 per customer minimum fee (for no use) and a $2.20 per 1,000 gallon metered rate. Monthly sewer charges are the saIne, except that the 1,000 gallon metered rate is based on water use and applied only to the first 5,000 gallons per single family equivalent. Total 2007 proposed revenues generated from customer water and sewer fees are $243,504 and $166,286, respectively. A basic water tap fee is $5,500 and a basic sewer tap fee is $3,500. Proposed 2007 revenues generated from water tap and sewer tap fees including connection charges and anticipated capital grants from developers are $200,862 and $89,647, respectively. Other revenue sources include approximately $37,400 in general property tax collections. The total 2007 proposed budget for the district is $1,542,518. Future plans of the RMWSD include improvements to the water system for needed increased fire flow and water pressure, including a new well, replacing 100 year old mains and increasing pipeline sizes and looping, and a new water storage tank. Additional future plans include the construction of an upstream storage reservoir on the purchased ranch, the purchase of additional water rights and the construction of an office/shop for the District. 2a